January 07, 2010

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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will not be running for the Colorado governor’s race, according to two senior Democrats familiar with his decision, paving the way for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to emerge as the Democratic nominee.

Salazar was the favored candidate among Washington operatives, and White House officials gave him the green light to pursue the campaign. But Hickenlooper is also popular statewide and looks to be a stronger challenger than retiring Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter against the likely Republican nominee, former Rep. Scott McInnis.

“It was definitely a joint decision. He’s fiercely loyal to the president, loves what he’s doing …and he’s really fond of Hickenlooper and thinks we can win that seat with Hickenlooper in the race,” said a source close to Salazar.

Salazar also moved his family to D.C. when he was appointed to the Cabinet, and making the move back to Colorado for a vigorous campaign would have been difficult, according to the source.

Salazar released a statement Thursday announcing his decision not to run and his support of Hickenlooper.

"Colorado needs a strong, experienced leader with optimism and new ideas for carrying our state forward. That is why I am endorsing John Hickenlooper for governor of Colorado," Salazar said.

"John Hickenlooper is a uniter. He transcends political and geographic divides to bring people together to develop solutions. If he decides to run, he will make an excellent governor for the state of Colorado."

Yesterday Hickenlooper said he would have deferred to Salazar had the former senator decided to run in the governor’s race.

"Ken Salazar is Ken Salazar. Should Ken Salazar decide to run, I'd probably be his first volunteer," the mayor said, according to the Denver Post.

A Rasmussen poll released today showed McInnis narrowly leading Hickenlooper, by 3 points, 45 to 42 percent. The poll also showed Hickenlooper with a strong 57 percent favorable rating, with only 32 percent of Coloradans viewing him unfavorably.

Salazar is smarting that he looks. He knows the dissatisfaction with the Obama administration is only getting worse and any dem politician running from Dog Catcher to Governor will be taken down in 2010 with this loser.

Smart play by Salazar, he left his senate job in the middle of the term, he's not going to now come back less then a year later to run for Governor, that be tacky.
Good news for Ryan Frazier if Hickenlooper runs for Gov.

Hicky is a carpetbagging East Coaster who made it big in Denver in the liquor business and in transforming downtown into a yuppy paradise! Jane Norton could do more good as Governor than she ever could do as one of the minority in the Senate. I hope that the dopey GOP in Colorado wises up and doesn't let this golden opportunity pass us by like they did in the last several elections (getting Coors to run for Senate simply because of name-identity and then not even mentioning the abortion issue)! Catholics got Ritter elected Governor because they believed he was anti-abortion. They won't be hoodwinked again -- hopefully -- by someone who claims to be Catholic. The Looper is an obvious lightweight who caters to and is beloved by and only by the new yuppy generation that thrives only in the mega Denver metro area. He will lose in a landslide outside of Denver. If he eventually becomes the candidate, the GOP better spend a lot of money getting out the vote in the real Colorado. It's not too late to turn red again!

Hickenlooper isn't getting throttled in the Rasmussen poll only because his policies and ideas are virtually unknown outside of Denver city limits. Everyone knows him; nobody knows what he believes. Salazar was the Democrats' best chance in Colorado and now the red landslide is right on track. There is absolutely no way that Hickenlooper's liberalism gains traction in Denver's vast suburbs or any other part of the state. Can the Democrats be so deluded as to believe that Denver liberalism will sell anywhere outside of Denver?

This is typical salazar. He endorses a non-candidate. hickenlooper is only popular in denver and boulder. That is the only places the elites live. We don't need a liquor salesman, we need a proven leader like Scott McInnis. Jane Norton will be a great U.S. Senator.